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Important rules apply to being a political donor and receiving political donations in NSW.
The rules depend on the type, amount and timing of the donation(s) and the person or entity providing or receiving the donation, among other factors.
Since 1 July 2008, the NSW Electoral Commission has been required by law to publish details of political donations and electoral expenditure disclosed by political parties, elected members, candidates, political donors and others.
The NSW Electoral Commission proactively publishes certain details of political donations and electoral expenditure that were disclosed prior to 1 July 2008.
Find out more about disclosures and how to view them
Since 1 July 2008, the NSW Electoral Commission has been required by law to publish details of political donations and electoral expenditure disclosed by political parties, elected members, candidates, political donors and others.
The NSW Electoral Commission proactively publishes certain details of political donations and electoral expenditure that were disclosed prior to 1 July 2008.
Find out more about disclosures and how to view them
The details of registered third-party lobbyists, and their clients, are entered into a register maintained and published by the NSW Electoral Commission.
The Lobbyists Register includes the following information:
- the name and business contact details of the lobbyist
- the names of individuals engaged to undertake the lobbying of government officials for the lobbyist (‘employees’)
- the names of individuals who have a management, financial or other interest in the lobbyist (‘owners’)
- the names of third parties (‘clients’) who have retained the lobbyist to provide, or for whom the lobbyist has provided, lobbying services (whether paid or unpaid), including information about those clients who are foreign principals.
Information relating to a third-party lobbyist is retained in the Lobbyists Register until at least two years after the third-party lobbyist ceased to be registered. This includes the lobbyist’s particulars, employees and client details.
The Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (GIPA Act) establishes a regime for public access to government information in a proactive, open manner.
There are three ways under the GIPA Act to access information held by a government agency:
- information published on the website of the agency
- make an informal request
- make a formal access application.
Information in relation to the NSW Electoral Commission’s audit, investigative and prosecuting functions is ‘excluded information’ under the GIPA Act. The GIPA Act states that there is a conclusive presumption of an overriding public interest against disclosure of excluded information and it prevents an access application being made for excluded information. Further limitations also apply under legislative provisions that restrict the disclosure of information held by the NSW Electoral Commission other than for activities relating to the administration of elections.
Find out more about how to apply to access information from the NSW Electoral Commission.
The removal of posters after an election is not regulated by the NSW Electoral Commission.
Removal is generally dealt with under planning laws. See, for example, Subdivision 13 of the State Environmental Planning Policy (Exempt and Complying Development Codes) 2008. There may be other laws that apply in specific cases, like for electricity assets.
For rules that apply about removing posters in a particular local government area, the relevant local council may be contacted for comment. Any person who would like an election sign on another person’s property or a utility removed should also contact the relevant local council or electricity distributor first to find out about what can be done.
In the initial count several different types of votes are allocated to the “Informal/Other votes” pile.
Some candidates’ formal, Below The Line votes will be included in the "Total Informal/Other Votes" figure, in the Virtual Tally Room these candidates are marked with an asterix.
During the check count, these votes will be reviewed and, if formal, moved out of the 'Informal/Other' group and included in the formal count numbers. Find out more about the count timeline on our website.
The “Informal/Other votes” pile also includes ballot papers that are obviously informal, unclear ballot papers, and formal ballot papers marked both Above and Below The Line.
All ballot papers will be re-checked for formality and sorted to their correct category in the Check Count after further scrutiny by senior election officials.
After the check count the “Total Informal/Other votes” number will reduce as the votes initially allocated to this pile undergo scrutiny by election officials.